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Max Baucus retiring

Montana Sen. Max Baucus will not seek reelection in 2014, becoming the latest senior red-state Democrat to bail out of a potentially difficult reelection campaign.

Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a political institution in Montana, had nearly $5 million in the bank at the end of the first quarter but was expected to face a tough fight in his GOP-leaning home state.

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EMILY’s List president Stephanie Schriock, a top messenger for Democrats in 2012 with roots in Montana, is also viewed as a potential, but less likely, candidate.

In a statement, Baucus said he is not “turning out to pasture,” but had decided another campaign would be one too many.

“Our country and our state face enormous challenges – rising debt, a dysfunctional tax code, threats to our outdoor heritage, and the need for more good-paying jobs,” Baucus said. “Deciding not to run for re-election was an extremely difficult decision. After thinking long and hard, I decided I want to focus the next year and a half on serving Montana unconstrained by the demands of a campaign.”

Baucus joins colleagues Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Carl Levin of Michigan and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey in exiting the 2014 race.

His Montana seat is likely to be one of the toughest on that list for Democrats to defend.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, expressed confidence that his party will be able to hold the seat, pointing to the Democrats’ Senate victory in Montana last year.

“We just won Montana with Jon Tester in 2012. We built a very strong ground apparatus there. We expect to compete and win and hold the seat,” Bennet told POLITICO as he left a Finance hearing Tuesday.

The White House gave Baucus a warm sendoff, issuing a statement from President Barack Obama that lauded the long-serving senator for “nearly 35 years of service to the people of Montana.”

“Max has made small businesses a top priority, often taking ‘Work Days’ to visit local businesses across Montana and spend a day working alongside his constituents to gain perspective and help bolster the local economy. As Finance Committee Chairman and a senior member of both the Agriculture and the Environment and Public Works Committees, Max has been a leader on a broad range of issues that touch the lives of Americans across the country,” the president said.

Democrats familiar with Baucus’s thinking say the decision came down to personal considerations: at 71, running for reelection would have put Baucus near his 73rd birthday on Election Day 2014 and near the 80-year mark at the end of another term.

“At 73, you can still have a life. He can hike in Montana. At 80, it’s a different story,” said one knowledgeable Democrat.